Ven Poole named Waste Industries CEO

Waste Industries, the Raleigh trash hauler that went private in May, has named Ven Poole – son of company co-founder Lonnie Poole Jr. – as its new chief executive.

Ven Poole will replace Jim Perry, who has served as CEO of Waste Industries since July 2002. The move is effective Jan. 1

Perry will become chairman of the company’s board, replacing Lonnie Poole. Lonnie Poole will stay on as a Waste Industries director.

Harry Habets, the company’s current chief operating officer, also will become Waste Industries’ president.

“The changes outlined above are part of an orderly succession plan that was contemplated as part of the Company's recent decision to once again become a private company,” Perry said in a written statement. “I am very confident that under the leadership of Ven and Harry, Waste Industries will continue its tradition of growth and service, not only to our customers, but to our industry.”

In May, Waste Industries went through a management-led buyout that took the company off the public markets. A group led by Perry and the Poole family threw its lot in with the investment firms Macquarie Infrastructure Partners and Goldman Sachs in a deal that valued Waste Industries at $544 million.

The company said it went private to escape what it saw as Wall Street’s undue focus on short-term results. Top brass said they wanted to be able to more aggressive, future-oriented investments in the business without taking a hit from shareholders worried about quarterly numbers.

Waste Industries has always been family-oriented. Co-founded in 1970 by Lonnie Poole, the company went public in 1997 – but even then, the Pooles and longtime right-hand man Perry owned roughly half of Waste Industries. Even after the buyout, management still owns a majority of the company.